Yes, it actually sounds worse than the public sector rules.
Your client can still throw you inside IR35, because you'll never win a case if they've said they think you should be inside. And as you noted, it could be done after the fact, rather than upfront.
Furthermore, they've suggested that you personally, rather than your Ltd company, should be liable for the PAYE/NIC tax, which means you could potentially get hit for IR35 taxes personally six years later, I guess.
Furthermore, they've suggested significantly increased penalties for deliberately failing to operate IR35. But given all the confusion and uncertainty around IR35, "deliberately" is likely to end up being subjective.
This is not a friendly approach to contractors. This is trying to protect UK PLC from having the liability/responsibility that comes with the public sector approach, and throwing contractors under the bus.
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Not keen on CIOT's IR35 consultation suggestion
https://www.tax.org.uk/media-centre/...sion-%E2%80%98
Sounds to me like it's still giving the client an ongoing obligation to judge whether contractors are inside or outside. So there's still the issue of clients judging without the relevant expertise and so it's even worse if they choose to do it at some random point - I'd rather it was upfront.
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